Losing competence change has a longer negative cloud.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not stated
• D. Both

Answer: (B)

Perceptions about how and why an athlete’s competence changes shape how long any negative judgment lasts. If competence is lost due to understandable, non-moral reasons—like injury, aging, or a temporary skill gap that’s being addressed—the public and sport community often give room for recovery. Once there’s evidence of improvement or return to form, the strong negative feelings tend to fade rather than persist indefinitely. The lasting impact is not automatic; it depends on the cause, the transparency of the situation, and whether there’s a credible effort to regain performance.

So, the statement that the negative cloud lasts longer when competence is lost isn’t generally true. It overgeneralizes the social response. In other cases, such as clear ethical breaches (cheating), the cloud can endure regardless of subsequent performance.